from what i understand -It is a characteristic of DORSATA to have multiple colonies in one location-they also build open air colonies -which means they dont enter voids or seek outside protection -like ligusta or melifera- they are also larger-and prone to mass sting episodes when provoked - they also forage in the moonlight 8-) RDY-B http://photo.bees.net/gallery/dorsata/dorsata_nest_guarding_edges

ALSO take note they live on a singal comb that becomes huge with large colonys Here is some things you will find familar with mellifera-----------------A. mellifera has 24 different races. Winston (1978) gave a good overview of various races and I will only cover the most common ones. A. mellifera ligustica is the so called "Italian" bees and is perhaps the most common bees kept, although by and large, most bees kept in North America has become a mix of ligustica and a few other races. The Italian bees are golden yellow and winters in large population, with a high consumption of honey during the winter. A. mellifera scutellata is the African bee, which was introduced to the Brazil in 1957. This race is the most defensive race among all honey bees and will mass attack a human or animal with 500 to 5000 stings. Other races almost never do that. With that many stings a person will die (even if not allergic) due to venom toxicity, if not treated medically right away. A. mellifera carnica (Carniolan bees) are also widely bred and used in North America due to their gentleness. Bees are darker and overwinter in smaller populations. A. m. capensis (Cape bees) is another African bee also causing problems in Africa. This bee has a high rate of parthenogensis so that workers can produce worker and queen offspring even though they are never mated. The workers also develop their ovaries easily and become â€˜falseâ€™ queens. These features enable the cape bee workers to invade other non-Cape bee colonies, kill the queen, and become a false queen and laying mostly drone eggs but some do become workers, the workers grow up and repeat the cycle to invade more colonies, causing a large economic loss to beekeepers because the invaded colony eventual die off.